Grim Painter

You are a Grim Reaper. When it's time for people to die, you tear the souls out of their bodies and pass their spirits Beyond. You get to keep a small percentage of spirit left behind. You like to consider that your side gig, though. Your ideal job is making art. [[Begin->Main]] (set: $spirit to 9)\ (set: $inspo to 2)\ (set: $art to 0)\ (set: $dollars to 1)\ (set: $wholesome to 2)\ (set: $perspective to 2)\ (set: $confidence to 2)\ (set: $price to 100)\ (set: $canbuy to 0)\ (set: $mood to (a: "good", "chill", "dec"))\ (set: $room to (a:))\ (set: $day to (random: 1, 6))\ (set: $shop to (a: "scythe", "confbook", "persbook", "wholbook")) (set: $poetm to 1)

(display:"day") (display:"room") (display:"options") (display:"stats")

(if: $poetm is <3)[(if: $day is 1)[It's another fine day.]\ (elseif: $day is 2)[There's a light rain outside.]\ (elseif: $day is 3)[It's sunny outside.]\ (elseif: $day is 4)[The thunder outside is comforting.]\ (elseif: $day is 5)[Looks like there's a void instead of the sun today.]\ (elseif: $day is 6)[It's another fine day.]]\ (else:)[(if: $day is 1)[It's an overcast day.]\ (elseif: $day is 2)[It's another void day.]\ (elseif: $day is 3)[The rain feels simulated today.]\ (elseif: $day is 4)[It sounds like there's a parade today.]\ (elseif: $day is 5)[The air is dense with noxiene today.]\ (elseif: $day is 6)[The air is so thick with noxiene that everything has a slight tinge of red.]]

What will you do? - [[Reap souls->reap]] - [[Observe the world->observe]](set: $canpaint to 0)(set: $cansell to 0)(set: $canbuy to 0)(if: $spirit is >9 and $inspo is >4)[(set: $canpaint to 1)](if: $art is >0)[(set: $cansell to 1)] (if: $shop contains "confbook" or "wholbook" or "persbook" or "scythe" or "tigers" or "chrislights" or "movietickets")[(set: $canbuy to 1)]\ (if: $canbuy is 1)[ - [[Buy upgrades->upgrades]]]\ (if: $canpaint is 1)[ - [[ Make art->paint]]](else:)[ - Make art (requires 10 spirit and 5 inspiration)]\ (if: $cansell is 1)[ - [[Sell art->sell]]](else:)[ - Sell art (requires art)]\ (if: $ulpoet is 1)[ - [[Socialize->meetup]]]

(if: $poetm is >2)[You try not to think about your job.](else:)[(if: $wholesome is <4)[The world will always have more people who must die. You spend some time "culling the wheat".]\ (elseif:$wholesome is <6)[Bigger scythe, bigger spirits.]\ (elseif:$wholesome is <8)[You've come to understand the people in your town a bit more. Your empathy for the locals increases your spirit yield.]\ (elseif:$wholesome is <20)[It's not necessarily more difficult to steal souls from people nowadays, but it does feel a lot worse to do so. It's not clear what's changed. For some reason each soul you mow yields an immense measure of spirit.]]\ You receive $wholesome spirit from the souls of the dead. (set: $spirit to it + $wholesome) [[Nice->Main]]

(set: _see to (random: 1, 12))(set: _roam to (random: 1, 6))(set: _see2 to (random: 1, 6)) (display: "roam") (display: "see") (display: "see2") ... You get $perspective inspiration from your experiences today. (set: $inspo to it + $perspective) [[Cool->Main]]

(if: $confidence is <5)[You make some art. You put a heart and soul into it as always. You try to tell yourself that "done" is better than "perfect". It almost helps you feel better.](elseif: $confidence is <8)[You channel your inspiration (and the souls of the dead) to craft some experimental art. You lose track of time and wind up being a lot more productive than you anticipated.](elseif: $confidence is <20)[Parker cuddles you while you make art, occassionally playing with the spirit that you pour into your work. Your practice is paying off and it shows.] You receive + $confidence art. (set: $art to it + $confidence)(set: $inspo to it -5)(set: $spirit to it -10) (set: $day to (random: 1, 6)) [[Back->Main]] (the tome in the corner of your room reads: $room $shop "artbook", "gamingpc", "boat")

(set: _prodroll to (random: 1, 6))(set: _sellroll to (random: 1, 6))(set: _sale to $price * $art)You put your art up for sale online. You sell a(display:"product") on (display:"ssix") and get $ _sale for your efforts. Nice. (set: $dollars to it + _sale)(set: $art to it - it) (if: $ulpoet is 2)[(set: $ulpoet to 1)](if: $ulpoet is 0) [(if: $room contains "wholbook" and "confbook" and "persbook")[(set: $ulpoet to 1)](else:)[]]\ [[Back->Main]]

(if: $shop contains "scythe")[\ You walk uptown looking for stuff to buy but can't find much of interest. There is a giant scythe on sale at Shoppers, though, and you get bonus optimum points if you buy it now. Will you? [[Yes->buyscythe]]]\ \ (if: $room contains "scythe" and $shop contains "confbook" or "wholbook" or "persbook")[(if: $dollars is >199)[\ You have another inexplicable craving for snacks so you head to Shoppers. They still have a deal where you get a free self-help book if you buy $200 worth of cheese nips. The only question is this: what book should you choose?\ (if: $shop contains "confbook")[\ [[The Art of the Selfie: Gain Confidence by Reclaiming your Self Image->conf1]]](else:)[]\ (if: $shop contains "wholbook")[\ [[Visual Love: Uplifting Others through Locative Art Installation ->whol1]]](else:)[]\ (if: $shop contains "persbook")[\ [[Internal Defamiliarization: Widening Perspectives in the Networked Age->pers1]]](else:)[]\ ](else:)[\ You can't get anything. Want to labour more to feed the capitalist machine?]]\ \ (if: $dollars is >499 and $room contains "confbook" and "wholbook" and "persbook" and "scythe")[(display:"shop2")]\ \ (elseif: $room contains "confbook" and "wholbook" and "persbook" and "scythe")[\ Looks like you don't have enough money to get anything particularly useful. The economic inflation this past decade has been sonic, honestly. ]\ [[Back->Main]]

You buy the giant scythe. You can probably reap more souls at once with this, so that's cool. (set: $wholesome to it +2)(set: $dollars to it -100)(set: $room to it + (a:"scythe"))(set: $shop to it - (a:"scythe")) [[Back->Main]]

(set: $room to $room + (a: "confbook"))You didn't expect to get this much out of a book about selfies. Turns out having agency over self-presentation is really meaningful in a world where you're constantly being watched. You try taking a selfie but flinch when you remember you don't have a face anymore. It's just an ephemeral swirling void, a purplish-black emptiness that kind of sucks nearby light away from it. ... After a few moments of staring into your own emptiness, you put a skull emoji where your face would probably be. You save the selfie to your phone. (set: $confidence to it +3)(set: $dollars to it-200)(set: $shop to it - (a:"confbook"))(set: $shop to it + (a: "tigers")) [[Back->Main]]

(set: $room to it + (a:"wholbook"))You finish the book pretty fast since it was mostly pictures. Even though you probably won't be making an art installation any time soon, you still feel a kind of kinship for your hometown. They probably wouldn't like you if they knew you collected their souls, but there's definitely a specific vibe to your city that you love just a little bit more now. (set: $wholesome to it +3)(set: $dollars to it-200)(set: $shop to it - (a:"wholbook"))(set: $shop to it + (a: "chrislights")) [[Back->Main]]

(set: $room to it + (a:"persbook"))You don't know how to feel from that book. You didn't really... like... learn anything that can be explained? You put the book down and stretch. For some reason, when you look around your dimly-lit room, everything feels just a little bit different. (set: $perspective to it +3)(set: $dollars to it -200)(set: $shop to it - (a:"persbook"))(set: $shop to it + (a: "movietickets")) [[Back->Main]]

(if: _sellroll is 1)[Society6]\ (elseif: _sellroll is 2)[Facebook Marketplace]\ (elseif: _sellroll is 3)[Redbubble]\ (elseif: _sellroll is 4)[Etsy]\ (elseif: _sellroll is 5)[FurAffinity]\ (elseif: _sellroll is 6)[Society6]\

(if: _prodroll is 1)[ bunch of mugs]\ (elseif: _prodroll is 2)[ big art print]\ (elseif: _prodroll is 3)[ duvet cover]\ (elseif: _prodroll is 4)[ longboard design]\ (elseif: _prodroll is 5)[n air filter]\ (elseif: _prodroll is 6)[ radiation-resistant jacket]\

(if: _roam is 1)[(if: $poetm is >1)[You head uptown to wander the Asphalt Mesa. (display:"day")](else:)[You log onto "Third Life". (display:"day") You walk around looking for inspiration.] (elseif: _roam is 2)[You grab your longboard and head uptown into the city.]\ (elseif: _roam is 3)[You take a bus out to the Blight, where the farmland used to be.]\ (elseif: _roam is 4)[You go for a long walk in the forest.]\ (elseif: _roam is 5)[You head to the corpse of Grand River to collect more animal bones.]\ (elseif: _roam is 6)[You fall asleep and find yourself in a dark and endless room filled with floating doors.]]\

\ (if: _see is 1)[You don't see anything, but can feel the ambient presence of something much bigger than you nearby.]\ (elseif: _see is 2)[(if: $room contains "tigers")[Parker materializes beside you.](else:)[There's a flash of light at your feet. You look down and see a childhood toy that you had forgotten about. You know better than to touch it.]]\ (elseif: _see is 3)[Someone's here with you. You recognize them as the child of someone whose soul you recently claimed.]\ (elseif: _see is 4)[In the distance, something rises like it's yawning, and your chest vibrates with the air.]\ (elseif: _see is 5)[A bird flies by. You didn't expect to find one here.]\ (elseif: _see is 6)[There's water pooling everywhere. At least, it looks like water.]\ (elseif: _see is 7)[The clouds move extraordinarily fast.]\ (elseif: _see is 8)[(if: $room contains "wholbook")[You take a marker and trace circuitry on the ground. This rune pulses light in sync with your heartbeat.](else:)[You imagine that your childhood crush is here with you. "I'm not real," the hologram says. "I died years ago and uploaded my consciousness to a drive." Your daydream is ruined by the impossibility of that scenario. That's not how consciousness works, you say to nobody in particular.]]\ (elseif: _see is 9)[(if: $room contains "confbook")[You take another picture of yourself and place a skull where your face would be.](else:)[You sense hundreds of eyes leering at you. They're not real, though. They're not.]]\ (elseif: _see is 10)[There's a lot of butterflies here, of all different colours.]\ (elseif: _see is 11)[The distinct smell of something rotten keeps distracting you.]\ (elseif: _see is 12)[(if: $room contains "persbook")[You whistle a little tune to yourself as you wander. A few moments later you hear someone whistle a harmony back.](else:)[You're listening to music on your phone and a song comes up on shuffle that perfectly matches this place. It gets you choked up for no reason.]]\ \

(if: _see2 is 1)[You don't return home for a while.]\ (elseif: _see2 is 2)[You wonder if this is how you'll eventually die.]\ (elseif: _see2 is 3)[Your shadow feels like it weighs a ton.]\ (elseif: _see2 is 4)[When you return, the main thing on your mind is having some kind of alcohol.]\ (elseif: _see2 is 5)[You wonder if there's a way you can properly capture this feeling in a painting.]\ (elseif: _see2 is 6)[You hear something breathing. You almost follow the sound.]\ \

You head to Shoppers. (set: _shope1 to (random: 1, 12))(set: _shope2 to (random: 1, 6))(display: "shope1") (display: "shope2")\ (if: $shop contains "chrislights")[ [[Christmas lights->whol2]]]\ (if: $shop contains "movietickets")[ [[Movie tickets->pers2]]]\ (if: $shop contains "tigers")[ [[A handful of tigers->conf2]]]\ (if: $shop contains "AAAAAA")[]\ (if: $shop contains "BBBBBB")[]\ (if: $shop contains "CCCCCC")[]\ There's gotta be a way you can improve your self-expression through consumerism.

\ (if: _shope1 is 1)[There's vaporwave on the radio.]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 2)[It's unusually busy today.]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 3)[You hear the sound of crying but you're not sure where it's coming from.]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 4)[There's an awesome deal on oxygen pills!]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 5)[Looks like you get bonus Optimum points today.]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 6)[Suddenly it feels like it's 3AM.]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 7)[About half of the store has Fractured. You can see trees and stones flickering in and out of space.]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 8)[Monster Energy went up in price again.]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 9)[There's a temporary Tim Horton's here, but they only sell timbits.]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 10)[The same employee is standing in every aisle, except each one is in a different mood.]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 11)[You hear sobbing from a soul you claimed last week. For some reason this only happens at Shoppers.]\ (elseif: _shope1 is 12)[They're giving out facemasks to help with the plague. You're still not sure if you're happy or sad about the death rates in this town.]\ \

(if: _shope2 is 1)[There's a few items that catch your eye.]\ (elseif: _shope2 is 2)[There's only a few things that aren't arbitrarily ridiculously expensive.]\ (elseif: _shope2 is 3)[You get in line with two cases of Pepsi Ginger, but feel like it gives off a weird vibe if you don't get something else with it. What else can you toss into the cart?]\ (elseif: _shope2 is 4)[Despite the state of your face, someone recognizes you and wants to talk. You need to buy something and get out ASAP.]\ (elseif: _shope2 is 5)[Every shelf on the store has been stocked with only these things.]\ (elseif: _shope2 is 6)[Only the following stuff is really of interest.]\ \

(set: _persgain to $perspective - 2)\ (display: "poetprompts") ... You gain _persgain perspective from the day's events. (set: $inspo to it + $perspective - 2)\ [[Back->Main]]

(if: $poetm is 1)[ You head to the Last Cup for the first time since becoming a Reaper. You order two coffees and play Merchant on your phone while you wait. (if: $room contains "tigers")[Parker tries to sip from your coffee and looks upset when the cream and sugar phase through her tongue. She dematerializes as Poet enters the shop.](else:)[It's not long before you see Poet enter the shop.] You wave at them. Poet's mask looks more cracked than you remember, the visor occassionally breaking into bouts of static and colour. "Like how the waves head into the shore," they say, taking a seat, "here I shall come to face my end." The two of you talk as if nothing had changed. ]\ (if: $poetm is 2)[ You meet Poet at the Cabin and order a few drinks. "So," Poet says, thumbing their shot, "Why are you doing this?" You know Poet already knows the answer. "Sure, I'll give it a go." They shudder as they plug the shot in. "I know you're not making art for its own sake. But you're not in it for the money. So you must be..." The two of you are interrupted by a barfight. Someone caught their partner touching bare hands with another and now there's a kind of water all over the floor and counter. Poe's visor blinks as they turn back to you. "What were we talking about again?" You can't remember.(if: $dollars is >100)[(set: $dollars to it -100)] ]\ (if: $poetm is 3)[ The two of you find each other in the ruins of a soup kitchen. There's nothing left to scavenge, so nobody patrols the area anymore. Poet's lying down on a flat piece of rubble. They ask, "Do you ever plan on stopping?" That could be referring to almost anything. "Well, I don't." They hold their phone above their face and project a new chapter of their story. "Can I read this to you?" You get a sudden urge to pull off Poet's gloves. Instead, you lie down beside them and close your eyes. ]\ (if: $poetm is 4)[ Poet's in your house, crouching on your couch like a gargoyle while you paint. Both of your cups are already empty - Poet brough a rare brew today. "Won't one of us get in trouble if I see you using souls like that?" It's part of the contract, you explain, that you can do whatever you want with the excess. "...Does no one live except for you to mow?" You're not sure if that's a quote or a question, so you do a kind of half shrug and go back to work. (set: $art to it+2) ]\ (if: $poetm is 5)[ You make two coffees and fall asleep. As usual you find yourself in a dark void populated with doors. Poet is here, too. They don't look impressed. "Is this it?" You've never felt self-conscious about your own dreams before. "No," they say, "I mean... sleeping, working, looking at stuff that you've seen before, this whole game. Will we ever see something new?" This /is/ new. Poet dissolves into a cloud of crows and you wake up smelling the scent of charcoal. ]\ (if: $poetm is 6)[ You find Poet by the remains of the Grand River. They're soldering runes into a cement block with some kind of brown metal. Both of you forgot the coffee. "Hey," they say, "Have I done this before?" They haven't. "If each moment changes place with that which goes before, does that make for infinitely new moments or just two?" That's a question of semantics, not philosophy. "No, you're not listening." Poet emanates a wave of heat before sighing and crushing their cube. "What I mean, I guess, is -- if everything we do is in response to the past, then are we only recycling the past in new ways?" You don't have a reply. "Is it a problem if we are?" ]\ (if: $poetm is 7)[ placeholder ]\ (if: $poetm is 8)[ ]\ (set: $poetm to it + 1)\ (set: $ulpoet to 2)

(set: $room to it + (a:"chrislights"))\ It's not until you're standing in your house that you realize you have absolutely no use for christmas lights. You're not even entirely sure if you own a christmas. It'd probably be best to return the lights before they become Soulbound. As you're walking uptown with the lights, you catch the attention of a few locals keeping warm by a circuitflame. They've never seen christmas lights either. A kid's curious hand dips the plug into the circuitflame before you can stop them. As the plug grazes the fire, the whole bundle in your hands roars to life and cackles a brilliant display of colours for the whole block to see. It's honestly very pretty. You leave the lights with the strangers, who extend and coil and dance with the rainbow of life that you had accidentally gifted them. You kind of forgot that people could feel joy, which is a little weird to think about. You've been a Reaper for too long. Anyway, that felt like a waste of $500. (set: $wholesome to it +7)(set: $dollars to it-500)(set: $shop to it - (a:"chrislights"))(set: $shop to it + (a: "AAAAAA")) [[Back->Main]]

(set: $room to $room + (a: "tigers"))\ You take a handful of tigers back home. That is to say, you take a single tiger home. The first problem is that it refuses to leave the box it came in. No amount of bribery seems to make it budge. Oh, but the moment you start practicing your scythe twirls, of course that's when it wants to pounce. The second problem is that your tiger is currently a ghost and you keep procrascinating sending her Beyond. Her name is Parker and she's quite annoying. You cuddle her every day. (set: $confidence to it +7)(set: $dollars to it-500)(set: $shop to it - (a:"tigers"))(set: $shop to it + (a: "BBBBBB")) [[Back->Main]]

(set: $room to it + (a:"movietickets"))\ You haven't seen a movie in a long time, and you thought you'd do something nice with Poet. It feels like it's been too long since you had seen them. "You think I'm into this?" Poet's mask flickers and you almost catch a glimpse of their face. "You severely misinterpret who I am," they say. You go to the movies alone. Nobody wants to buy your second ticket. Even though you're not feeling particularly sad, and even though you feel totally fine, you for some reason spend the entire film fighting back tears. You can't even recall what the movie was about. (set: $perspective to it +7)(set: $dollars to it -500)(set: $shop to it - (a:"movietickets"))(set: $shop to it + (a: "CCCCCC")) [[Back->Main]]